The Traitors in Our Midst
by Pickzee
Summary: In Kel's first year as a lady knight she learns a bit more about traitors than she ever wanted to know. Kel's going to have a baby... in a Scanran prison! K/C K/D pairing
1. Commissio

Title: The Traitors in Our Midst  
  
Author: The Lady Rouge  
  
Rating: PG-13 for innuendo and language  
  
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance  
  
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon  
  
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself.  
  
Disclaimer: All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. These are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction. No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit.  
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
~Commissio~  
  
  
  
Socked feet padded noiselessly along the cool stone corridor in the area of the palace reserved for Knights-errant. All the torches in the hall were blown out; it was well past the time when normal people prowled the palace. Even the servants were asleep which was what Kel wanted. The one lurking had been Keladry of Mindelan, exactly one half of the lady knights in the land of Tortall. She really had no reason to sneak; though her motive may have been questionable they were by no means unlawful. Seeing the dorm she sought she rapped her hand in a seven beat against the oaken door just above the bronze nameplate proclaiming the inhabitant to be Cleon of Kennan. The door opened halfway, revealing a broad shouldered redhead wearing nothing but a loincloth.  
  
"Kel? Mithros, what are you doing here at this time of night?" a groggy Cleon asked.  
  
"I was lonely, Jump decided to stay at the stable tonight, they birds were happier outside and the griffin's gone, good riddance. I answered your question, now you need to answer my questions. One, why don't I get a warmer welcome and two why are you wearing just a loincloth?" After Cleon's interrogation of her she decided that it was time for one of her own.  
  
"Well, I was in my loincloth because some of the other knights and I had just returned from a tavern and just now I was getting ready to go to bed." Though the thought went unspoken Kel could he thought 'but I wasn't expecting you to be with me in that bed too.' Cleon paused then brought her mouth up to his for a hungry kiss. His hands bean to rove over her back causing Kel to sigh against his mouth and lean closer to him. Savoring her taste he broke off the kiss. "I hope this is a sufficiently warm welcome jewel of my love."  
  
Kel giggled. Cleon was always thinking of new silly, love-stricken nicknames for her. Cleon waved her into his room and as soon as she was in closed and bolted the door. Holding her tight around her waist but not resuming his kiss he asked a question that was torturing his mind.  
  
"Now really why are you here Kel? If you were lonely you would have come over much earlier and both you and I know that Jump doesn't leave your side."  
  
"You caught me," the young woman threw up her hands in mock surrender, "I just came because I missed you and I needed to see you, you had been away for so long that I want to see you as much as I can." She snuggled closer to Cleon and looped her arms around his neck, not needing to reach very far because she was so tall. She raised her face to his waiting for Cleon to drop a kiss on her mouth. He did but broke it quickly and kissed a sensitive spot on the side of her neck. Kel crumbled entirely and seeing her response so did Cleon.  
  
  
  
~  
  
  
  
Muffled voices came from the hall waking Kel from her light slumber. She pinched Cleon lightly on the arm. The voices were quiet and seemed tense as though the speaker was being secretive. Cleon had barely twitched when she pinched him earlier so she did it again, and this time much harder.  
  
"Mithros Kel, the first time we–" He was stopped by Kel shoving her hand over his mouth.  
  
"Listen. Do you hear those voices? They sound like they're talking about something a lot more serious than the ungraceful way they were woken up." Kel whispered this into Cleon's ear very quickly.  
  
The suspicious voices grew closer. "Listen, if the price was right I'd sneak into the King's chambers and find out what color his undergarments are or soon, were. So, for the right sum I'll find out any information you need for Warlord Maggur." To Kel's unpracticed ear the voice sounded hauntingly familiar.  
  
"Kel that voice sounds like someone's, but whose?" Cleon's very tired and somewhat indignant voice questioned of Kel.  
  
"I don't know and I hope we're just hallucinating because I really don't want any of my friends beheaded, whether or not they're traitors." Cleon's warm arm snaked around Kel and drew her closer to him, which was rather hard since both resting against each other already. His husky voice penetrated the silence, "You know I can think of some things I'd much rather be doing than listen to some face faceless traitors conspire about a war near a thousand miles away."  
  
Kissing Cleon soundly, neither party noticed that when Cleon's hand swept up, a golden chain with a strangely shaped pendant slipped from Kel's neck and dropped to the ground next to the small bed.  
  
  
  
~  
  
  
  
Kel was no longer his squire but he still her cared for her like a daughter and the prolonged silence from the room next door that was usually occupied by Kel perturbed Raoul. He would not have noticed but usually at this time in the morning the girl would be practicing with her glaive and either he would hear her footfalls or an assortment of curses from her accidentally hitting a chair, desk or other item that splintered when she hit it with the sharp weapon. The only time she had ceased this morning habit was when she was ill or so injured that 'playing warrior' any more than she needed would hurt her health. Afraid that her health was in question her left his rooms and knocked rapidly on the door. With no response Raoul picked the lock only to see that Kel's bed was empty and un-slept in. Jump was going crazy, wondering what had happened to his lady master. The sparrows however were surprisingly as calm and serene as a sparrow got at the best of times. There was neither note of ransom nor any sign of struggle, along with the sparrows' relative calm drawing his suspicions away from a kidnapping. Realizing that probably if he walked down the hallway and took a left into the third room on the left he would find Kel and her redheaded boyfriend in a rather embarrassing situation he let his fears go and took Jump down to the stables to get his missing owner off his mind.  
  
  
  
~  
  
  
  
Inness brought a goblet full of Duke Baird's hangover potion for Cleon, who had had more than his fair share of ale at the tavern. Trying to push Cleon's door open but not being able to get it to budge he used his Gift, the only member of the Mindelan clam to have it in his generation, to open the lock and swing the door open only to be greeted by a not so pleasant sight. His very naked sister rested her head on the chest of his equally bare ex-squire. Inness made deliberately loud hacking noise in his throat, which roused the pair from their peaceful sleep. Kel's head, with her tousled light brown and now embarrassed hazel eyes jerked from its resting spot while her hands groped for the sheets that had slid down the bed. When the sheets were fully covering her and Cleon she finally had the courage to look her brother in they eye.  
  
"Is this a one-night stand or a normal occurrence? Don't answer that I'm not sure which is a worse answer. I'm hoping that you have had the talk from mom otherwise gods know what you're getting into. You," the fuming brother locked eyes with Cleon, "had better be very glad you aren't my squire anymore or else you would have a thrashing like you never believed. Once you're up Cleon, here's a drink for your hangover." Leaving the room in a huff Inness slammed the door on his way out.  
  
"He didn't live in the Yamani Isles for six years learning how to hold in your anger," Kel commented on her brother's show of temper. 


	2. Quid Fit?

Title: The Traitors in Our Midst  
  
Author: The Lady Rogue  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance  
  
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon   
  
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself.  
  
Author's Note: If you want to know what the chapter titles find a web-site or book that translates Latin to English. Thank you to you wonderful reviewers. *happy tear* Keep reviewing it makes me write more quickly. Replies to the favored few who think they know what is going on, have asked an intelligent question, have written a review as long as this chapter, said something really nice : ), or said something mean or wrong and I need to yell at them.  
  
MagixPawn: I'm glad you liked the end, I wasn't sure how to end it but then I got that idea.   
  
White-Wolf: *Claps for White Wolf* If your thinking I'm evil because of what I think you're thinking you're right and you're the first person to guess. Except my friend but I told her the entire plot line so that doesn't count. I love being mean to characters especially ones that aren't mine. But according to Tamora Pierce "New, hard circumstances force characters to sink or swim, the way you show it will move things along." But this does work out in the end, in fact it saves her life so don't get too mad at me.  
  
Ashley: *claps on back for being first reviewer* Don't very used to fluff and mush, this really isn't supposed to be fluff I just needed that because I needed a plot starter and that worked very well. This does really have a plot and the real plot starts in a few chapters, propably chapter five but I'm not sure. YET.   
  
Disclaimer: All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. These characters, settings, and background are the sole property of Ms. Tamora Pierce and are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction. No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit.  
  
  
Chapter 2  
Quid Fit?  
  
  
Though Cleon brushed off the hushed voices in the hall without a second thought it haunted Kel's every thought. She had no idea why it seemed to be so stuck in her mind. She would be sitting with her friends talking and whenever anyone spoke her mind would recall and try to the voices with the sounds of the secretive voice that she heard that night she spent at Cleon's.  
  
The night at Cleon's. This posed another question. Ever since then she had felt odd, more hungry, more tired. She couldn't stay up as late as her friends, she would fall asleep before anyone else was even yawning. She had skipped her monthly cycle, not that she missed it much, but it worried her enough to put her on her guard. Her mind wondered, what's happening to me?   
  
Probably spent to much time worrying and staying up past my bed time.   
  
You should find out if that is really what it is, the rational side of her brain countered.   
  
But I know what is wrong. I've worked myself to the bone for Raoul for four years straight and it's catching up with me. The not-very-realistic side of Kel adamantly denied any real physical problem that would not be fixed by a week off work and a very large feast.   
  
Whatever you say...  
  
"Kel, wake up." Cleon's voice seemed to echo and bounce around her brain. Using every ounce of willpower she had she peeled her eyes open and propped herself up on her elbows. "You really should see a healing woman about this Kel, this is the third time you've fallen asleep before eight in three days, Neal noticed too but he thought it would be best if I told you. He left the name of this healer for you though, she's Alanna's mother's in law friend or something. D'you want me to come with you?" He managed to say all this in one breath and from the look in his eye it seemed he knew what was wrong but did not want to say it.  
  
"Fine, I'll go. You can come if you really want to, I doubt you'd have much fun waiting with me at a healer's. When should we go? I want to get this over with and prove that I don't have anything wrong with me," Kel said, her tone indignant.  
  
"Let's go now then." Cleon's answer was curt and short, different than any tone he had used in the past two years towards her. He opened the door for her and followed her out. They silently made their way out of the sprawling stone palace and out into the bustling town. Cleon knew his way through the town better than Kel because Lord Wyldon had granted him many more days off than he had Kel so he guided her quickly and efficiently to Street of the Willows and to the building with a wooden cup circled in brown and red hanging as a sign.   
  
"Hello is any one home?," Kel asked as she hesitantly knocked on the door."  
  
"Who's there and what is your business here?" replied a weathered, old female voice.  
  
"Kel ma'am, I'm here as a patient"  
  
"Come in and sit yourself down on this table, I'll get right to you." A old woman with almost entirely snow white hair except for a few chestnut strands stood holding the door open for Kel and Cleon to come in. The air smelt of herbs and medicines. The soothing yet invigorating smells wafted from potted plants that hung from the ceiling. The aforementioned table was wooden with a white sheet draped across it. It was placed strategically in the center of the room so the healer could examine her patient from all angles without having them move in excess. The lady bustled around the room straightening boxes and watering some of the plants. Washing her hands of dirt in a basin of water and drying them on a rough towel she pulled a stool parallel to the table and sat down. As she did so her very bones seemed to creak and strain with the effort. "Two right noble guests sitting in my little hovel at the same time, well I'll be darned. What brings ye to my mediocre practice when you have the honorable Duke Baird up at the castle to heal your tiniest of sniffles?"  
  
Cleon spoke for the first time since they left the castle. "Though we're not sure what it is quite yet , we don't want to be the center of court gossip as we would have been if we had it delt with through the palace healers."  
  
"Ah I see," the lady said though her voice betrayed that she really did not. "So lass, tell me what is ailing ye and I'll see what I can do to aid ye."  
  
"Well since about a month ago I've been very hungry and extremely tired, falling asleep at odd times, not even being able to stay up past nine. And my cycle skipped, I know it happens once and awhile with every woman but with all the other odd things it worries me."  
  
"Before you felt this way did you lie with a man recently?"  
  
Kel blushed, "Yes, but only once before I started feeling so odd."  
  
"Have you a charm against pregnancy?"  
  
"Yes I got it last year from a healer and a peddler last year on the Grand Progress. Here it is," Kel procedeed to fumble under her shirt for the thin gold chain it was strung on. "Damn where is it?"  
  
"Is this what you're looking for?" Cleon held up an exact replica of her charm. "I was going to give it to you earlier but we haven't had a chance to be alone since that night and I didn't want any of the boys to see."  
  
"I think I should send you to a specialist. There is one just three doors down."  
  
Leaving with words of thanks and a coin tossed in the lady's direction, the two left.  
  
"Cleon you know but you won't tell me. What is it?" Kel was straining to keep her voice level but was starting to fail miserably.  
  
"Weren't you ever around a woman who is going to have a child?" Cleon's voice was high with stress.  
  
"No, I'm the youngest in my family. Why? Should I have been?"  
  
"They're constantly eating and sleeping, they have very bizarre mood swings. They skip their, um, 'that time of the month'. Right now you're all of those things, you haven't had your 'that time of the month' and the fact that I found your charm after that night. Well, everything is pointing to that you'll er we'll being hearing the patter of little feet in nine monthes."  
  
"No, I'm not! I can't! I won't let it! You're wrong! I'm just tired and worn down! Whatever I am ONE THING I'M NOT IS PREGNANT!" Kel's irrational outburst made all the heads on the street whip around to see who was screaming like a mad woman about a gift from the Mother Goddess, in the lower levels whether the child was a legimate or illegimate babies were considered a blessing. One head however was not common. Butchard of stone mountian was sure the court gossips would be *very* interseted in the first legal lady knight in over a century having slept around and now being pregnant with some man's (probably the redhead she was standing with and yelling at) little bastard. Butchard giggled (A/N know, I know GUYS DON'T GIGGLE) gleefuly. The girl would never know what hit her not after her name had been dragged through enough mud to fill a twenty foot deep hole and hung right where the entire court could see it. All those fights her little friends had gotten in to defend her honor would have been in vain, not when in a few monthes the truth would be visable to anyone who looked. 


	3. Marito

Title:  The Traitors in Our Midst Author:  The Lady Rogue (Should I change my pen name? I know there is already a Lady Rogue on FanFiction.net and I have a few ideas for new pen names but I'm going to ask you, should I change my pen name?) Rating:  PG-13 Genre:  Action/Adventure/Romance Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon Summary:  In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know.  She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies.  To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself. A/N:  Kel doesn't hate Cleon, she is just very angry about her situation and since it is his fault she has turned him into a handy-dandy scapegoat.  So sorry for the late posting I've been way to busy with camps, being a counselor, 4-H stuff, and finishing a short story for a deadline.  If anyone cares to read the story I'll be posting it once the proofreading/editing is done and I think off a good title for it.  It's short(er)/later, I'm sorry I just went totally brain dead for this chapter even though I knew I needed to get through it so I could in time get through to the more fun parts to write.  I beg of thee REVIEW!  If you care a wink about this story REVIEW!  Going from seven reviews a chapter to one review a chapter does very little to encourage me to keep writing. Disclaimer:  All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce.  These are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction.  No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit. Chapter 3Marito Cleon walked into Neal's room knowing to expect the worst.  Neal was fiercely protective of Kel at the best of times, there was no saying how much pain he would be suffering from when he left the room of the older, though less experienced, knight after he told him about Kel's situation.  "Neal where are you?  I need to talk to you and I need to talk to you now."  Cleon's voice boomed, and subsequently Neal's head popped from the closet with a stray stocking resting on it.   In a second the rest of Neal appeared wearing beat up breeches and a near threadbare shirt. "Spring cleaning," Neal said as if it explained everything.  He was troubled when Cleon did not chuckle or even crack a grin.  "What's wrong with Kel?" "Sit down."  Neal obeyed without a word.  "You know how you told me to tell you what was wrong with Kel when we got back from the healers?"  Neal nodded and a worried expression crossed his face.  "Well, um Kelispregnantwithmychild." "She's what?!  You are by far the worst, slimiest, lowest, most vile person.  Do you know what this will do to her?  Her reputation?  Some of Joren's group is still around and you know how much of a living Chaos they will make for her."  Neal stopped talking and drew back his fist , letting it fly with a sickening crunch on Cleon's face. ~_____****__Eat well, get lots of rest, exercise lightly, stop playing knight , don't stress yourself.  __What CAN I do?  I'm not a damn porcelain doll, I don't break when I "play knight" as she not so aptly put it.  Doesn't she understand that it is my JOB to "play knight."  I don't want to grow senile and weak waiting for a stupid child I never even wanted to be born.  Then I have to wait at least six months before I can leave the baby entirely with a nanny.  As soon as this stupid child is born Cleon will have a boot lodged in his chest for being so careless.__"Honey, I'm home" __And here the dense oaf is right now.  And with a lovely berry colored eye.__"Whatever it is, no.  I already slept for three extra hours.  Another second of sleep and this child is likely to be born in an asylum for the not-so-sane." "Ah the joy of suffering through your mood swings.  Don't think for a second that I'm enjoying this any more than you, I have the threat of three overprotective brothers and two sisters you said were very gifted in revenge looming over my head.  If Inness isn't the very protective I shudder at the thought of what Anders is like."  Cleon's voice began at a level of high sarcasm and ended in a grim tone that summed up how he expected the announcement to the Mindelan family would go.  "I do have something considerably more joyful than my impending death to tell you."  Cleon dropped to one knee. "Keladry, would you marry me?"  (A/N I'm a poet and I didn't know it!) Kel's angry expression turned soft, her face the exact opposite of the way it was a minute ago.  "Of course.  Why wouldn't I?"  "Well you seemed so mad at me the past couple of days that I didn't think you wanted to marry me or even have anything to do with me any more." Kel's voice hardened into a defensive tone.  "I wasn't mad at you, I was just mad and you were a convenient person to let out my anger on because you were its cause if indirectly.  I'm sorry Cleon, it's just that I wasn't planning on having kids for a long time, if ever.  Now I'm pregnant before I'd had even one whole year as a knight of the realm."  Losing all semblance of Yamani calm Kel burst into tears and she clung to Cleon for dear life.  Soon Cleon's tunic was heavy and tacky with tears but, he did not mind.  Kel was not really mad at him, just at what had happened as a result of their actions. "It's okay Kel, it will be fine.  We're getting married and we can tell your family.  You'll stay there at Mindelan until the birth.  After the child is born we can give him to a foster family who will raise him as their own child.  No one will ever know he existed and you'll be able to go back to adventuring and competing in tournaments,"  Cleon said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "I don't know what I want to happen Cleon.  This is going to be my child and I sort of feel as though I'm obliged to take care of her and keep her safe.  But then this other part of me want to forget she ever existed after she is born and never acknowledge that she ever existed.  I don't know, I just don't know."  Kel grabbed the dagger that Alanna the Lioness had given her as a page and threw into the door that Cleon had just realized was riddled with chinks from other such acts of frustration. Cleon spoke softly trying to relay a semblance of calm though he himself was far from it.  "We can and will make it through this.  Whatever you decide to do about the child we'll cope with and with any luck, make work to our advantage."  _


	4. Chapter 4 Oh sooooo creative, eh?

Title: The Traitors in Our Midst  
  
Author: Pickzee (sound it out you'll get it) formerly The Lady Rogue Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance  
  
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom  
  
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself.  
  
A/N: I beg of thee REVIEW! If you care a wink about this story REVIEW! I got eight reviews for the last chapter so far, yay! I'm exceedingly, sincerely sorry for the format problems last chapter, I was trying it in HTML format for the first time so my italics would work and the spacing codes decided to rebel against me and really piss me off. I'll try and fix it when I have time, right now could someone please explain the meaning of the word? purty please? I'm already rushing to get this chapter out before vacation and school comes around but that gives me eh a day and FF. net is switching servers (Gah!) so I won't be able to do it anyway. As the writers of Spongebob would say: Hey! Do you think that's funny? In a twisted cosmic sorta way, yes. Need 'nother Frappachino, gah I'm a Starbuckian and I don't even really like coffee, just chocolate Frappachinos, yumyumyum. Your author is hyperactive and on caffeine/coffee surge. Expect a rather light(ish, nothing in this story is very light, except short humor spurts I decide to add.) part in a manner of speaking. It is really fun to write about the gossips, hehehe. Question: LK is out. It doesn't mesh with this story. Do you want me to continue? I was gonna add K/D any way once my brain clicked in a bit more.  
  
Disclaimer: All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. I am not Tamora Pierce, one I'm not that gifted and two if I were the all mighty Tammy do you really think that Neal would be demanding that I raise Joren from the dead so they can play cards until his next scene?(It won't happen. I'm not Thom, I don't go around resurrecting people just for the heck of it. Thom's dead anywho so I can't hire him.) Now that we've got that cleared up on to the legal crap. These are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction. No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit.  
  
Chapter 4 (Screw chapter titles, I just had Latin homework, I don't want to translate more.)  
  
"Really, did you hear about the new pages? That Keladry girl must have really set a trend there are five girls."  
  
"What is the court coming to? They let girls into the warrior business, I can understand misfits like that Keladry or the Kings Champion wanting to be suicidal like that but normal girls could never want to be knights, they must be very confused about the world and their place in it."  
  
A gaggle of about ten gossiping ladies was wandering through the palace gardens comparing the newest rumors and scandals they had heard from "reliable" sources.  
  
"I heard the most interesting gossip about our newest lady knight. I heard she was sleeping with her knight master when she was a squire and that the stories of the Lord Raoul sleeping with the Commander of the Queen's Riders was just a facade so that no one caught on to their scandal."  
  
"Whoever told you that is either insane, lying or incredibly dense." The gossip who suggested the idea that Kel was Raoul's secret lover blushed suggesting that it had been her who created that rumor. "I heard from Butchard of Stone Mountain that the Mindelan girl is pregnant. He said that when he was in Lower Corus on business he saw her coming out of a midwife's yelling at Sir Cleon of Kennan for getting her pregnant."  
  
"Cleon of Kennan?! Isn't he betrothed to an heiress?"  
  
"The lady knight pregnant hmm? Seems to be the best scandal I've heard for a long time. Does anyone else think we should go enlighten the rest of the court about this?"  
  
A chorus of yeses erupted from the group and they all went their separate ways to find someone who would be interested in their latest gossip.  
  
~  
  
In six hours nearly everyone who resided in the palace who didn't know Kel's impending child. The only ones who didn't know of the new center of gossip were the center herself, Kel and the Lioness who had just returned from Pirate's Swoop with Baron George in tow. Hidden in the folds of a warm woolen cloak Kel made her way down to the rooms where her idol was staying while at the palace. Having taught Alanna how to use a glaive had made the two close friends and it was in Alanna that she would seek advice. She was pounding on Alanna's door in a matter of minutes. When the door opened inwards Kel fell inside, obviously she had been putting more weight on the door than she had thought.  
  
"Kel? What's the matter? I've never seen you this upset." Alanna had caught Kel in her fall and immediately knew something was wrong. What exactly was wrong she did not know.  
  
"It's a long story and one I'd rather not tell while standing in a door way." Alanna gestured for Kel to sit on the sofa and after closing the door Alanna joined her.  
  
"What has you so worked up that you nearly broke down my door to talk to me?"  
  
Kel related the whole story of her and Cleon spending the night together and the healer's knowledge that she was pregnant.  
  
"Well, you really stuck your foot in it this time. Don't you have a pregnancy charm?"  
  
"I had one yes, but in bed it came off. I never wanted to become pregnant. Never!" Kel exclaimed vehemently.  
  
Alanna sighed deeply. "There's nothing I can do for you. I know how to make a pregnancy miscarry but if I use it you'll most likely never be able to bear children and at sometime you will want a child. Even I wanted children after I married George," here Alanna gave a wicked grin. "You may not thank me now but later you will. I'm sorry Kel."  
  
~  
  
Several days ago Cleon had ridden out from the palace to fief Kennan to speak to his mother about his impromptu proposal. Now he was there in the sitting room with his mother waiting to hear what he had to say.  
  
"Mother, you remember the girl Keladry I told you about, right?"  
  
"The lady knight," the lady of the manor stated with obvious distaste.  
  
Cleon took a deep breath. "I proposed to her."  
  
"You did WHAT? You mean you asked that unnatural woman to marry you? When you know you are betrothed to an heiress?"  
  
"I'm sorry mother. I know you never liked the idea of our relationship but it was important. For her honor."  
  
"You impregnated that whore didn't you? I forbid you to marry her. Did you happen to see how the fief is? We're as good as commoners with a fancy name. You must marry the heiress."  
  
"But-"  
  
"No buts, you will marry the heiress if you want to or not."  
  
~  
  
"Kel, I'm sorry. I don't have a choice. Not only are my people dying but if I don't marry the heiress I'll be denounced."  
  
"You should have never started anything between us. You knew in the end that you would have to marry the heiress instead of me and now look at where I am, pregnant, honor less and heartbroken." Kel was fighting to keep her Yamani mask up and she was on the verge of losing.  
  
Cleon shrugged, "I thought what we felt for each other would pull us through but I was wrong. I'm sorry. I thought Mother could be convinced if I pleaded enough but it didn't work."  
  
Ah, the winds of war. Kel was having no problem with her mask now. "Cleon, go. I can't look at you any more." Each word was perfectly dictated and emotionless.  
  
Cleon left the room pausing slightly in the door frame. "I am really sorry Kel. I hope you know that."  
  
Kel gave one short sob when he was out of the room and settled herself to tidying her room. She knew that I marriage between her and Cleon would never work out, their views were too different and he wanted her to settle down and be ladylike more that she could tolerate.  
  
But still he was her first love and she was carrying his child. A part of her would never quite move on but she knew that if she met her someone she would be ready for them.  
  
She did not know how soon that would be.  
  
~  
  
A/N: If you're happy and you know it press review If you're happy and you know it press review If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it I you're happy and you know it please review.  
  
I can't eat tomorrow so give me reviews for sustenance. I find out that I didn't make the play on Tuesday so give me reviews for hope against hope. 


	5. Eh, what's in a chapter title?

Title: The Traitors in Our Midst  
  
Author: Pickzee (sound it out you'll get it) formerly The Lady Rogue  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance  
  
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom  
  
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself.  
  
A/N: I beg of thee REVIEW! If you care a wink about this story REVIEW! I'm tired and I'm only writing this now because I know I need to hack out so people who care don't charge me with pitchforks (it really hurts to get stabbed with those, trust me) or try to impale me with plastic knives.  
  
Disclaimer: Go fish. Seriously go fish. You have a better chance of catching Tamora Pierce in a lake with the fishes than you have of finding her in this house  
  
All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. I am not Tamora Pierce, one I'm not that gifted and two if I were the all mighty Tammy do you really think that Neal would be demanding that I raise Joren from the dead so they can play cards until his next scene?(It won't happen. I'm not Thom, I don't go around resurrecting people just for the heck of it. Thom's dead anywho so I can't hire him.) Now that we've got that cleared up on to the legal crap. These are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction. No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit.  
  
Chapter 5 (What's in a name? Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? If Shakespeare can say that about a sir name I can say it about chapter titles.)  
  
~  
  
Dom's squad was back. Since before Kel's life-altering night with Cleon they had been in a village just north of port Caynne helping to rebuild the town after a band of pirates had looted the valuables and set fire to the buildings. Kel was beyond relief to have someone that she could talk to without having them stare at her stomach, thinking about her soon to be born illegitimate child. She knew that in order to have a somewhat normal conversation with him she would have to intercept him before the court gossips did. So that was why Kel was leaning against the stall door for Dom's horse.  
  
"Well look at who just got back from gloriously saving a village," Kel said noting Dom's muddy tunic and breeches.  
  
"You spent far too much time with milord Raoul. You raise your eyebrow like him, you talk like him, you fight like him, you can even do the commander voice like him. Begging your pardon, but you are a bad girl, Keladry."  
  
"This coming from the man who stole my line? I think I've finally rubbed off on you Dom."  
  
"Maybe you have but why did you ambush me in my first ten minute's in the palace to flaunt your Raoul-ish-ness?"  
  
"Actually I really just needed to talk to you before anyone else caught you. If I help you put your things away would you come up to my rooms to talk with me?"  
  
"Well I do have to report to Raoul but I think I can postpone that since you're such a good friend."  
  
"Thank you, Dom."  
  
The combined efforts of Kel and Dom made fast work of settling Dom's things. Soon they were trudging up the hill towards the rooms Kel called home. Dom teased Kel who responded by a large smile, she was still some what governed by Yamani law and straight out laughing would be beyond rude. The pair exchanged small talk and other niceties though neither really knew quite what they were saying; Kel was more worried about how Dom would take the news; Dom wondered what the news that was so urgent was.  
  
"Come in, Dom, it won't bite you." Kel suppressed a giggle at Dom's hesitation to enter the place she lived. He took a hesitant step, he had been in here before but only at parties or with other men of the Own, now it felt like an invasion of privacy, especially with his own suppressed feelings.  
  
"Sit down," Kel said as she shut the door. "If you don't want to be my friend after you hear this I understand entirely. I'm pregnant. With Cleon's child and he had to go off and marry the heiress and the court gossips already know so of course my good name, not that I ever had one with the conservatives, has been dragged through the mud so much that you cannot even guess at how it used to be, and my whole life is a mess and oh Goddess, Dom, it's horrible so horrible, no court ladies will talk to me and neither will any people I don't know. I hate myself, I hate Cleon, I hate this unborn child, but at the same time I love them all too. Oh Gods..."  
  
"Kel, it will be okay, it has to be, you're Keladry of Mindelan, you'll be okay." Somehow in her rant Kel's head ended up resting on Dom's shoulder making two rivers of tears wind their way down his back. He gave her a reassuring rub on the back but she was already asleep on his shoulder.  
  
~  
  
It was delicate operation. Dom had carried Kel over to her bed and gently dropped her on it. Now he was trying to remove her clothes so she was more comfortable but it was tricky. He had no problems pulling off her boots but her was having serious misgivings about taking off her tunic, shirt and breeches. The tunic was easy enough; one arm through the hole, then the other and finally up over her head. Pulling off the shirt disturbed him, so much bare skin was hidden underneath it, as much as he tried to hide it Dom was still a virgin. He averted his eyes and began to work the breeches down when Kel stirred.  
  
"Dom? What are you doing? Are you trying to take advantage of me? You are hideous, I thought you were my friend and you just try to get into bed with me. Why?"  
  
"Kel it's not what you think."  
  
"I know exactly what it is Marble, do you take me for a dunce or a prostitute? Well I'm not and I won't stand for this treatment. Are there no decent men in this country?, Cleon impregnates me, promises to marry me to save my honor and than goes to be married to a rich lady. And you try to steal some of me while I'm sleeping? Why must everything be like this?"  
  
"But Kel I wasn't going to take advantage of you, you just feel asleep on my shoulder and I took you back to your bed and tried I was trying to make you more comfortable, and I know you would not have been if you were still wearing your training clothes."  
  
"Oh. I guess I didn't need to go into hysterics then did I? I'm sorry for yelling Dom." Kel looked down at her feet unable to face him after her brash outburst. She grabbed the linen shirt Dom had removed and put it back on over her undergarments.  
  
"It's okay, Kel, I think I can se how you would think that. I did feel bad but I wanted you to be comfortable, I'm sorry for making you think that. Did Cleon really propose?"  
  
"He did but in a way I'm glad he couldn't go through with it, we never would have made a good marriage, he never took anything seriously and I take things too seriously. We would be fighting all the time and that would not be good for either of us. But a part of me still wishes it could have worked out."  
  
"More than a part of me is glad that it didn't," Dom whispered.  
  
"What? How do you mean?"  
  
"This what I mean." Dom said as he leaned closer to Kel. He placed his lips on hers but a sudden rap quickly drew them away on the door.  
  
"Kel! Open the door! I know you are in there!" The person's voice was indistinguishable clear.  
  
"Who is it?" Kel inquired of the voice the voice.  
  
"Neal!"  
  
Kel motioned for Dom to hide under the poster bed before she called for Neal to come in.  
  
"Hello Kel. Yuki sent me on a mission. You know of course how our wedding is in three months. Well, Yuki wants you to act as matron of honor. She sent me to ask if you would be willing to undertake the job."  
  
Three months Kel thought. I would not be showing yet so I think it is safe for me to accept. "I can and will do it. When do I need to meet Yuki to begin preparations?"  
  
"Two days from today is the first fitting. It is being held at Lalasa's shop."  
  
"Thank you Neal. I won't keep you any more, I know you and Yuki have a lot to plan for your wedding and I don't want to hold you up."  
  
"Why are you so anxious to get rid of me Kel? You act like you have a man hidden under the bed." Kel blushed faintly.  
  
"No, Alanna's coming over soon to do a check on the pregnancy and is not something you would enjoy being witness too."  
  
"All right Kel, I'll see you later sometime, I spent enough time with Alanna as a squire, I don't want to run into her any more than I have to."  
  
"Goodbye Neal."  
  
As Neal left Kel closed door firmly so there would be no more intrusions.  
  
"You can come out now Dom." When Dom surfaced from under the bed he asked the question that had been haunting him.  
  
"When did my cousin get the Sight?"  
  
"What makes you think he has the Sight, it was probably just a lucky guess."  
  
"A damned good lucky guess."  
  
"What were you saying before Neal come over here to annoy us with his wedding plans?"  
  
"This," Dom said as he leaned down and kissed Kel, this time the kiss being much longer more lingering but equally soft. When he ended the kiss Kel reinstated it, though this kiss was more than a light brush and tongues explored the others mouth. It felt like fireworks were exploding behind her eyes and she felt assured the feeling was reciprocal.  
  
These kisses were different than Cleon's.  
  
And Kel liked them more.  
  
  
  
A/N  
  
Review. Please. My MP3 downloader isn't working so I don't have any of the music files I want on my computer so I need your reviews to be music to my ears... err eyes. Do me a favor and tell your friends. And go read Only Hope, it by my best friend yes the plots are somewhat similar, it wasn't supposed end up that way but that's what happens when you idea bounce.  
  
~Pickzee  
  
P.S. The real plot starts next chapter, I decided. 


	6. Malaeduraeterrae

Title: The Traitors in Our Midst  
  
Author: Pickzee  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance  
  
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom  
  
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself. Or Kel's gonna have a baby... in a Scanran prison.  
  
A/N: I beg of thee REVIEW! If you care a wink about this story REVIEW! Not a happy chapter by any stretch of the imagination, unless you really hate Kel and you want her to be dragged off to some prison in a warring country. The new part of my summary is from Sweet Home Alabama even though I haven't seen it yet. Please review I'm not feeling well plus I got in major doo-doo for something that wasn't my fault at school today. Oh and lets just say Raoul has been blissfully ignorant of most of this chapters goings on until I have his scene. Sorry to all you people who like the spy but I had to chose one of Kel's friends for this job and got to be him.  
  
Disclaimer: All rights reserved for Ms. Tamora Pierce. I am not Tamora Pierce, one I'm not that gifted and two if I were the all mighty Tammy do you really think that Neal would be demanding that I raise Joren from the dead so they can play cards until his next scene?(It won't happen. I'm not Thom, I don't go around resurrecting people just for the heck of it. Thom's dead anywho so I can't hire him.) Now that we've got that cleared up on to the legal crap. These are only being borrowed for the amusement and enjoyment of the author and the readers of this fan fiction. No money is being made off the distribution of this story and even if money was being made I have no money for a lawsuit.  
  
~Chapter 6~  
  
Malaeduraeterra  
  
  
  
Kel's stomach gave a loud growl as she stalked to the kitchens of the palace. Most of the torches were out aside from the occasional flicker. Kel wanted a banana and she wanted it now. Never mind that it was two in the morning and that sleeping would refresh her and plunge her into temporary bliss. But the baby wanted banana and there was nothing Kel could do until the baby was satisfied. So feeling her way through the palace and knocking over a couple suits of armor would be the best course of action. Finally in the kitchen she faced a large crate of fresh bananas from Carthak. Grabbing a bunch she left the realm of chefs and tried to find her way back to her room.  
  
"There are slightly under two hundred knights in the realm that are prepared for action plus how ever many soldiers Jonathan can muster. We would need about a hundred or so killing machines, Blayce."  
  
It was that eerily familiar voice Kel had heard the night she bedded Cleon. Knowing she was already lost beyond redemption Kel decided to investigate.  
  
"Good work Faleron, when those Tortallans come up North to reclaim their border we will have a lethal welcoming party for them to gore themselves on. With any luck we won't even need to send in any living soldiers, just sacrifice-able metal machines..."  
  
Kel gasped, there was only one Faleron at court right now and that was her supposed friend. He had been very distant lately, keeping to himself and locking the door to his room. And the mass production of killing machines? She had faced at the end of her time as a squire and they were not something you would like to come across unprepared.  
  
"Wait Blayce, I think I heard someone around the corner. I'm going to check it out," Faleron said.  
  
Kel bolted, who knew what they would do if they caught her. Unfortunately for Kel all the lights in the hall were out and she fell flat on her face. The spy came right up behind her prone figure and tied her arms behind her back. she struggled and tried to kick her captor away but her legs were already immobilized. A gag was stuffed into her mouth as she tried to scream and the captor chuckled softly. "Trying to spy on the spy, Keladry? Naughty, naughty, naughty."  
  
Kel was certain of the spy's identity now. as much as she hated to admit it. "Fwawerown why awe uw doiwg dis?" Kel tried to say through her gag.  
  
"Because I want to." A knife hilt headed for Kel's temple and there was no more.  
  
~  
  
The next day the court gossips were on fire with the disappearance of Sir Keladry of Mindelan though they never expected any underlying plot at foot.  
  
"I bet she is just sharing some man's bed and she has decided to take her sweet time in leaving his room," said a blond haired beauty by the name of Lady Canidance of Hidden River.  
  
"When I was going to supper two days ago I saw Sergeant Domitan enter her room and he was still there two hours later when I passed her room again." This speaker was the homely Lady Arista who made up for her plain features with her upbeat personality.  
  
A comely lady who was new to the circle threw in her two cents,"Maybe she was kidnapped, I did hear a scuffle outside my room last night."  
  
"No one asked for your opinion, Gililan, she is a knight of the realm so she could defend herself against one person who was trying to attack her," Canidance said.  
  
Dom suddenly ran up to the group, scattering several stragglers. His hair was disheveled and there were dark circles under his eyes but the gossips obviously still thought him handsome. Canidance flashed her flirtiest smile and fluttered her eyelashes while Arista tried to involve him in some small talk, but Dom wanted their flirtations, he just wanted to know where Kel was.  
  
"Have any of you ladies seen Keladry? I have been searching the palace from top to bottom but I didn't see so much as a hair of hers. She was supposed to join me for breakfast today but she never showed up, so naturally I searched the whole castle for her but I have not seen her," Dom told this whole story using all the etiquette that speaking to ladies of their rank required but he did so grudgingly, he despised the gossips and he only was speaking to them right now to see if they knew Kel's where abouts.  
  
"I'm sorry good sir, but we have neither seen nor heard of Keladry's where this day." Gililan surprised her companions by answering the question with a lack honesty for integrity had always been Gililan's strong suit.  
  
"Thank you ladies but I must be going now. Good day." The gossips answered in a semblance of unity. Dom rushed away apparently to search for Kel some more.  
  
"So Gililan what's this of Keladry being kidnapped?"  
  
~  
  
Dom paced his chambers, he had no idea where Kel was and what was happening to her. He had been to see the gossips a week past which had proved fruitless and he was now toying with the idea of going to alert Raoul. He that if he took that course of action something would be done but he also knew that Raoul would be at his angriest and he would throw some type of fit to hear that Kel had gone missing.  
  
"Damn, what should I do? I need to find Kel, but I don't want to upend the entire country just because I'm searching for my lover and friend. Damn, damn, damn! I'll go see Raoul, I can't just wait while nothing happens." With that last comment to his mirror Dom turned and left to go see Raoul.  
  
~  
  
"Kel's what? She's MISSING?"  
  
"Yes, since a week ago, I don't know anything else, that's why I came to see you, you could do something, even if it was just hiring a scry mage to try and find her." Raoul's reaction had been exactly how Dom knew it would be, a fit of anger and worry at Kel's disappearance.  
  
"I'll see if I can find someone who can scry to try and find her, if not you and your squad may be going on a rescue or search mission. But are you sure she is not just at Mindelan?" Raoul seemed to be pleading with the gods through Dom for Kel's safety.  
  
"Why wouldn't she have told me or anyone else for that matter? I need to know that Kel is safe just as much as you do."  
  
Raoul was fiddling with some papers on his desk. Dom glanced at the desk and saw that he had juxtaposed a small portrait of Kel and a presumed missing form. "If anything bad happens to her... I'll go insane, just go insane. She was like my daughter when she was my squire. She still is."  
  
~  
  
Alanna stared hard into the rose gilded mirror she was using to scry. She was poring all the magic she possessed into searching for Kel, but all that showed in the mirror's face was a midnight blue fog.  
  
"She's being hidden by someone's magic. With all the magic I threw into the spell I should have been able to see her anywhere within the Eastern Lands. Also if she were outside my range of power the mirror would have refused to respond rather than show a fog." Alanna's voice was heavy with worry and she was fiddling with the handle of her mirror. Raoul dropped his head into his hands as Dom began to shred the piece of parchment he was holding. "This could only mean that she has been taken captive or is paying a mage to cast an hiding spell over her, but knowing Kel I feel the second option is out of the question."  
  
Dom's voice was hesitant as he asked; "Does this mean that I'll be taking my squad out to search for them? Or will we be waiting for her to suddenly appear at court even though she has most likely been taken captive by some enemy of hers."  
  
"You have my leave to begin a search," a Raoul's muffled voice affirmed.  
  
"We shall leave tomorrow."  
  
~  
  
Kel was shackled hand and foot in the back of a Scanran bound wagon and was getting no pleasure from the experience. The floor was hard, the blankets wet and the temperature was steadily dropping as they drew closer to the mountains. She was supplied food once a day, and even then not only were the portions meager, they were stale and moldy as well. She was forced to wait on every whim of the Scanrans who kept her bound in the wagon, one had even been so bold as to attempt to rape her, but luckily Faleron would not put up with any such behaviors from his men and he made them stop their conquesting in its tracks.  
  
"Mindelan, your meal." A plate of three crusty biscuits and a flask of rusty water was slid through an opening in the canvas. Kel ate one biscuit took a small swig of water and ate the second biscuit took another swill of the liquid and put the rest of her rations away in the barrel that held some old beaten up clothes, suitable only for a beggar or street rat. Now she would be able to gnaw on the biscuits.  
  
One of the Scanrans came and took off the chains binding her feet and replace it with a single ball and chain. The man yanked on the rope tried to her handcuffs and Kel obediently followed along. Now looming in front of her was a huge barracked gothic style building.  
  
"Hur's yer new 'ome wench, Malaeduraeterra, top prison in oll o' Scanran." The Scanran chuckled and the shocked expression on Kel's face. "T'ain't that bad, they either cull yer first week or they leave ye to die yerself, could be worse, to bad they don't do torture though."  
  
"Stop givin the girl false ideas Erik, this is a war not some petty murder offense like you served. Now Kel, take a good look at the outside of Malaeduraeterra, because you will be seeing only the inside for a long time," Faleron spoke up his cultured voice mocking her. "But we won't tell them to be too hard on you, just enough so that you learn your lesson about spies and actions in prewar time." Faleron laughed wickedly, his head turned up to the sky like a wolf. "You may be freed or you may become some farmer's fertilizer." With that all the Scanrans howled with viscous laughter.  
  
Kel knew that if she made it through this ordeal she would have a lot to thank the gods for. ~  
  
A/N: Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Review! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Malaeduraeterrae is actually a combination of three Latin words, the word malae (adjective feminine nominative plural) which means bad and durae (adjective feminine nominative plural) which means hard and terra (feminine nominative plural) that means earth or land. 


	7. Devolo

Title: The Traitors in Our Midst  
  
Author: Pickzee  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance/Angst  
  
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom  
  
Spoilers: Up through Squire; written as though Lady Knight wasn't published.  
  
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself. Or Kel's gonna have a baby... in a Scanran prison.  
  
A/N: Before I go into my rant I have something actually important; I changing the genre from Romance to Angst because for I while there will be a lot more Angst than anything that could be remotely deemed Romance. FOUR REVIEWS?!?!?! I write and post the pivotal chapter in less than a week and I get FIVE REVIEWS?!?! Damn I'd rather have flames than no reviews at all. Thank you so much to the people who care about me and do review (Kris you count you give un-posted reviews) but I do urge you all to review, how would you like it if I read your story and liked it but didn't review or even if I didn't like it I want constructive criticism so I know how to make people like it. I was in major shit (if anyone reviews saying shit happens I will kill them, stalk them down and kill them) that wasn't my fault when I wrote it so that was part of the reason why I hacked that out in a day so I understand if it was crappier than usual but I like to know what you think. Okee dokee rant over.  
  
Disclaimer: I come I disclaim I leave. If I wanted to deal with legal crap I would be planning for a career as a lawyer instead of for a job as a vet, an author, or a journalist.  
  
~Chapter 7~ ~Devolo~  
  
Kel was sitting on the floor of her private cell her feet curled under her. She had been here for a week and she had not been "culled" as Erik, now her personal guard, had said she might be. It was a twisted sort of compliment to have a personal guard, it meant that the wardens thought you were dangerous or clever enough to free yourself or harm the other prisoners or themselves. The same criteria applied to her personal cell. There was nothing to do now, other than slowly going mad from being left alone with just your mind. Kel was slipping into a warm blanket of memories, the memories of Dom, both as friends and as lovers, the memories of Neal, his sharp wit, boring philosophy, and bad poetry, the memories of Owen, always "Jolly!", memories of Yuki, always smiling behind her well practiced Yamani mask, memories of Merric, Roald, Shinko, even Cleon. But the most surprising memories were of Faleron back in the good old days when he was loyal and kind. Memories were dangerous though, they brought back the ifs, the when's, the how's; everything that Kel did not and was not sure if she wanted to know.  
  
"Wench, it's time fer yer medical look over." Erik was back from a meeting with the head warden, he was the only one who called her wench any more after she backhanded a fellow prisoner who tried to get her to answer to it. The only reason why she did not give Erik the same treatment was because she would be sentenced to some cruel fate for assaulting an "employee" of Malaeduraeterrae.  
  
"What medical look over? I was never told of any such thing when I arrived." Kel was unsure of nature of this visit with the healer and was justifiably worried.  
  
"Jest routine, we like our charges te live through their sentences." Erik gave a wolfish grin and lead her up to the healer's chambers.  
  
~  
  
"Majesty, we have all the reason in the world to believe that the Scanrans are behind the kidnapping of Keladry. Maggur is a growing threat, with his machines and his uniting of the clans. I propose that we go to war with them as soon as we are sure that the passes to the north are clear." Raoul was acting as diplomatically as possible in the situation. He was trying to convince Jonathan to declare war on Scanra without giving away how worried he was about the girl who might as well have been his daughter.  
  
"Lord Wyldon, Lord HaMinche, what are your opinions on this... situation?" Jon asked the two other men in the war room.  
  
Wyldon spoke first surprisingly agreeing with Raoul. "We might as well declare war, we know that it is inevitable that we will need to attack so I say we declare war and get the edge on Scanrans now while we have the chance to possibly take them by surprise."  
  
"Thank you Wyldon. Padriag do you have anything to say?"  
  
The new training master was gruff and terse in his answer. "We should avoid war at all costs with the Scanrans and we should especially not initiate it."  
  
Buri rushed in to the room of the war council, her hair a mess. "What did I miss?"  
  
"We had been discussing the possibility of going to war with Scanra as soon as we know that the passes are clear. Would you like to share any opinions commander?"  
  
"We should go to war. They've started to pick off our soldiers one by one. Haven't you heard the reports from the border patrols? Single members disappearing and no body being found plus there was the snatching of Keladry from right inside the palace walls. If we let this continue they will believe us to weak to fight and charge the castle themselves. And no offense Your Majesty but the palace couldn't take a beating like that and stay safe. Plus with them going through Corus think of how many innocents would be killed."  
  
"The majority of you have pressed for war so when the roads north are clear we march," Jonathan declared raising a roar of approval. Alanna briskly nodded her head showing her support of the plan and Raoul patted him on the back. The man left out of the party was HaMinche, not because he was bitter but simply because he knew that something bad would happen if they marched.  
  
~  
  
The healer's quarters were as dank and dismal as the rest of the prison. Or at least so it seemed until three globes of Gift induced light illuminated the room. The pallet that had appeared gray was now stark white and diagrams of the human body covered the walls.  
  
"Well, well, well, here is my newest patient. A woman, it's been quite a long time since we have had female in Malaeduraeterrae." The man's voice sounded a lot like this man was a mad mage and at the realization that his newest patient was a woman his eyes glowed lasciviously. "Up on the pallet with you, I need to do your inspection.  
  
The healer poked and prodded at Kel with both his hands and his Gift, occasionally letting his hands 'slip' in places that Kel was very uncomfortable with. The man's hand seemed to be permanently anchored to her chest and his other hand seemed to be prying its way between her tightly closed legs far too often.  
  
I thought it was illegal for a healer to do this to a patient, Kel thought as she tried to squirm away from the healer's wandering hands.  
  
"You're healthy but you'll need to come to me once a week to have checkups on the baby. We wouldn't want you losing the child now would we?"  
  
Actually there's nothing more that I'd like in the world other than getting out of this place but you wouldn't understand so I'm not going to tell you.  
  
~  
  
Dom's squad had their burnooses drawn so high up above their faces that it was almost impossible to tell one man from another. The fact that each man was wearing multiple cloaks was not helping to distinguish them. Traveling through mountains in late February was by no means a comfortable journey, nor a warm one. In most circumstances no one would be insane enough to attempt crossing the mountains but the squad's dedication to Kel and their commander and Dom's love for Kel were enough for them to jump into a frozen lake in Scanra at Midwinter. Needless to say that despite their reasons for going on a near suicidal journey they were still complaining.  
  
"Good Gods it's cold up here! If I get back to Corus alive I'll take up the Alanna's habit of not working in the winter and staying away from mountains," one indiscriminate lump proclaimed.  
  
"Here, here! You're never going to see this Own near a mountain ever again," replied another.  
  
"Don't any of you care about Kel?" said a rider who could only be Dom.  
  
"Of course we care. But couldn't it be warmer?"  
  
And now not only were the soldiers cold, but without knowing, they were horribly lost as well. ~  
  
Erik was having far too much fun with the new found information about Kel's pregnancy.  
  
"So the wench really is a wench. Who is the father of your little bastard? Some street scum without enough honor to make his whore honorable?"  
  
Kel shrank in her cell until she was up against the back wall. He was going straight to her mental pressure points. He might as well been pinching her palm with all his strength for what this interrogation was doing to her psyche. "He was a knight if you really must know."  
  
"What kind o' knight was 'e te leave ye pregnant with his bastard?" Kel felt like crying now because she had been asking herself that every night since Cleon had told her about his mother's refusal to let them wed.  
  
"A bad one."  
  
The burly Scanran chuckled maliciously. "A wench like yerself don't deserve any more than that."  
  
"I'm no wench."  
  
"Then why are ye carrying some knight's bastard?"  
  
"Because he deserves to go to Chaos. And it's all his fault"  
  
"One can't make a child can he?"  
  
"I would be married now if it were not for that," Kel used some very bad language to discribe Cleon's mother, "and then this child would have a real father. If Faleron had not kidnapped me I would be married in the next few months to person who really cared about me enough to keep my honor."  
  
"But he did and yer not."  
  
Erik chuckled again.  
  
A/N: You don't want to know how much I hate that last section. I needed to write it though so you're stuck reading it. 


	8. Fire and Ice

Title: The Traitors in Our Midst  
  
Author: Pickzee  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance/Angst  
  
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom  
  
Spoilers: Up through Squire; written as though Lady Knight wasn't published.  
  
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself. Or the really short version: Kel's gonna have a baby... in a Scanran prison.  
  
A/N: You like me, you really like me! Thank you in excess to the people who reviewed so far to make up for last chapters lack thereof. Ummm... Read The Duke Diaries written by me (who else, I'm a shameless self publicist). Oh yeah REVIEW both stories. Please review, I have the sinus infection/cold/flu/something from hell and it's no fun. Does ANYONE knew where I got the name Erik from? It's from a book/movie/musical/opera (not particularly opera like opera but it's still an opera) if that helps. Y100's cursing bleeper button is broken so there is loads cursing... Okay that was random... Short chapter, semi writer's block but I needed to write something.  
  
Disclaimer: The courts are killing me... they keep saying Tammy owns Tortall... No!  
  
~Chapter 8~ ~Fire and Ice~  
  
Dom was freezing. And lost. So was everyone else in his squad. Only they did not know about the second part. Just that they were cold, very cold. Each man was scraping icicles from his burnoose with chapped hands that were bleeding from the brittle skin and harsh weather. They ate provisions with split lips that flaked even more with every bite taken until there was only one scant layer of skin left between the thin blood vessels and the frigid air. No matter how devoted to the cause they were, morale was dropping with the temperature. As the squad stopped to make camp for another night concerns were voiced more vehemently than ever before.  
  
"It's insane to keep going, if we do we'll all end up in frozen graves. I know we need to save Kel but not at the sacrifice of all our lives. What is the point of a dead rescue party, I sure can't see one? Do we even know where we are?" Fulcher spoke out angrily.  
  
Dom stared down the corporal before answering his insubordinate comments. "Listen to me, even if you don't care about Kel listen to this, the sooner we find Kel, the sooner you can get home to where it's warm. And as long as we're careful with our supplies and energy we can survive this mountain. Do any of you have enough Gift to bewitch this map so it shows in relation to the possible places where Kel is being kept?"  
  
A blonde haired mage with mahogany eyes stepped forward hesitantly. "I could try my luck at spelling this map. To a basic scan this map seems to be devoid of spells which could counteract my work. Leave me be unless I call for you while I am working in this, a single error and this map could go up in smoke."  
  
"Get working then, we will leave in peace while you work."  
  
~  
  
Kel thought bad things were happening when she heard the trumpets that usually signified that royalty was approaching. She knew it when Erik demanded she get up, and make herself presentable for royalty. Kel was positive when she had her arms shackled behind her back, standing in front of King Maggur, or as Owen had coined him, King Maggot.  
  
"So this is the prisoner?" The King was staring at Kel intently, his face impossible to read.  
  
"Yes, Yer Highness," Erik answered.  
  
"When Faleron said a knight of Tortall, I expected, I don't know, someone more, masculine."  
  
"She's one of those silly new Lady Knights like tha' Elaine the Lion or such like, Yer Majesty." Erik was quaking with fear as he spoke to Maggur.  
  
"No matter what she is I want her taken to the questioning room."  
  
"Do ye want the official te do the questioning?"  
  
"No, I want to do it myself for a change."  
  
"As ye wish, Yer Majesty," Erik replied. He grabbed the shackles around Kel's wrists and began to tow her into what was presumably the "questioning room."  
  
Kel's eyes darted around the room seeing machines that looked objects of torture, which they probably were. Erik sat her in a chair, took off her chains and wrapped her arms to the chair with bloody leather strips, did the same thing to her feet, then stepped away into the shadows. A globe of mage-light glowed down directly into Kel's eyes making her blink and causing a thin film of sweat to form on her forehead.  
  
"You are a knight of the realm of Tortall. You should know all I ask of you. Reveal it, or else." The Scanran King towered over Kel impressively. "How many troops does the King have that are ready for battle?"  
  
"I will never tell you," Kel spat.  
  
Maggur held a strip of burning metal above her hand. "You will whether you want to or not. Tell me." Kel's face was white with fear but she still refused to tell the warlord anything. "No? All right." He lowered the strip onto her skin. "Are you ready to tell me yet?" Kel was grimacing but she shook her head none the less. The metal was lowered again.  
  
~  
  
Kel was back in her cell, nursing the burnt hand. She wished Neal was here to heal her hand back to health but he was not and she sighed. The red skin bubbled sickly as she thrust her hand into a barrel of melted snow. The icy temperature numbed the pain, at least momentarily and Kel was able to think for bit without painful distractions. The child inside her was growing, she knew, and anyone who looked would be able to see the result of her tryst with Cleon. She hated its being, loathed its life and wished for a release from the carriage wreck that was her life. Her prickly bed of straw drew her attention away from her near suicidal thoughts and back to the world around her. Kel turned to look at her hand and saw the top of the water was slowly crystalizing around her wrist. She jerked the arm free from the water's grip and winced as a chip of ice scraped her burn.  
  
"Did ye enjoy King Maggur's questioning, wench?" Erik had appeared in front the cell and was playing with a set of keys.  
  
"What do you think?" Kel responded, her face deadly calm.  
  
"I think it's time for ye te go fer yer checkup on the child." Erik was chuckling, he always did when the child was mentioned.  
  
"Why should I care? It's not as though I'm going to survive my stay here now anyway."  
  
"Yer right at that, Maggur has plan fer ye if ye don't start cooperating."  
  
"Well I guess I'm just one lucky knight aren't I? Lead the way." She had dealt with physical torture already, she could handle lascivious healer.  
  
~  
  
"I'm done! I'm done!" The mage who had offered to make the animated map was dancing around in front of his tent. It was a strange sight really, the man was as pale as a ghost and he was dancing around jovially. "It's finally dddoooonnnnee!" The blonde hair man bounded over to Dom and presented him a scroll of elk hide.  
  
Dom opened the map wide and looked it over. "Admirable work Fillip. I never imagined it would come out so well." He looked at the dot that signified the squad and cursed loudly. Dom's exclamation drew attention from everyone in camp. "Dammit! We're going the wrong way!"  
  
~  
  
A/N: The map is sort of like the Maurader's Map except it only shows Dom's squad. Kel going quasi-suicidal? What are Maggur's "plans" for Kel? And will Dom ever find Kel? Stay Tuned! 


	9. Chapter 9

Title: The Traitors in Our Midst  
  
Author: Pickzee  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance/Angst  
  
Pairing(s): Kel/Cleon, Kel/Dom  
  
Spoilers: Up through Squire; written as though Lady Knight wasn't published.  
  
Summary: In her first year as a knight Kel discovers a bit more about traitors than she ever wished to know. She finds that in the war against the Scanrans one of the most trusted of her friends is really the most traitorous of enemies. To make matters worse her relationship with Cleon deepens and in a moment of distraction the one she finds most traitorous is herself. Or the really short version: Kel's gonna have a baby... in a Scanran prison.  
  
A/N: Nothing to say for a change, other than I'm getting over my cold ...type... thing and that I have a quote of the day. Hugz to all reviewers, I'm getting closer to 100 every chapter. Keep up the good reviewing!  
  
Quote of the Day: "I will simply deny you the crown and ...live... forever!" The King from Ever After.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Only plot is. And people are trying to steal that. Those people know who they are.  
  
~Chapter 9~ ~~  
  
A council meeting (with what was left of the council after the troops moved off towards Scanra) was in session when the package reached the palace. The courier was recognized by none of the council members, but until the parcel was opened no one thought anything of the messenger. King Jonathan opened the parcel carefully with his letter opener and drew its contents from steady hands. When he saw the package's contents his hands began to shake ever so slightly.  
  
"The Scanrans have a message for us about our demands for them to return Keladry. They say: 'Stop your foolish attacks and petty pleas for the return Lady Keladry of Mindelan. If you want her come and claim her.' They sent us this as proof that they have her." Jon held up a hank of honey-colored hair. "Numair, could you check and see if this really is Keladry's hair?" Numair rose and walked over to where Jon was sitting. He cast some spell and a wash of black fire flickered over the locks. It stayed black until Numair released the spell.  
  
"I'm resigned to say it is Your Majesty. They really do have her." Numair fingered the hair for a second before giving it back to Jon and returning to his chair. Jon put is head in his hands and began to rub his temples with an uncharacteristic lack of conviction.  
  
"Mithros knows what they are doing to her there in order to make her tell. Who knows how long she can last under what is probably endless torture. We need her back dammit, if just so our military information isn't spilled to the enemy." Jonathan's voice was muffled from inside his hands. Raising his head slightly he noticed the message boy who had brought the letter from what was obviously Scanra. He fixed the boy in his memory setting each tendril of near white hair, the exact shade of his eyes and skin, his every blemish and birthmark into an unshakable image that mirrored the boy completely. "The Scanrans however were sloppy in sending this message. They have given us a source of information, however small it may be. And this my friends," Jonathan up and held the courier by the arm "is it. The Scanrans have given us a small, walking, talking information source." He got up and began to question the boy. He answered the questions with a surprisingly small amount of reluctance, fear etched on his features.  
  
"Where is Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan being held, boy?" Jonathan asked.  
  
"Ke-" The boy wreathed and squirmed before falling stone dead at the feet of his questioner.  
  
~  
  
A magical surge ran through Warlord Maggur as his messenger died. He released the thumbscrews he had been using to try and pry information from Kel and howled a stream of vulgar language to the sky. "Why that traitor, he was going to hand feed the Tortallan king all our secrets."  
  
"Yer Highness calm down. The king never learned where Keladry is so she can't be rescued by them yet," Erik tried to reassure the king.  
  
"She's of no use to us. Just cull her. We can send her back to Tortall in pieces." King Maggur said all this as though Kel was not sitting right beside him, limp against the metal backed chair. The news however, was of no great surprise to Kel who had suspected her death since the warlord had appeared at her prison. Currently she did not really care, in fact death would be a sweet release from the physical and mental wounds the last several hours of torture had inflicted upon her.  
  
"Begging yer pardon Yer Majesty I have a better idea. The wench is already six months with child, why not keep her alive until her child is born , then use the kid fer a culling machine and cull the lady knight. The Tortallans would be attacked by their one of their own bastards." Erik stood up from his seat across from the restraining chair.  
  
"Irony... I like the way you think... what's your name?"  
  
"Erik."  
  
"Yes of course, Erik, I knew that." The king absentmindedly said the name of Kel's guard several more times to imprint it in his own brain. "Take the prisoner away, I have no more use for her now. Remember to take her to the healer so we can be sure that her child comes safely and with no defects. I want this killing machine to be perfect."  
  
"O' course Yer Majesty," Erik replied before untying Kel.  
  
~  
  
"You saved me. Why?" Kel snapped as soon as she was returned to her cell. " I wanted to die then. Have you ever had thumbscrews used on you? Or third degree burns all over your hands? What about a back so raw from being whipped that you can't lean against the back of your chair?" Kel's mood swings had her emotions all tied in knots. Sometimes she was her old self, others she was depressed enough to have the air of being quasi- suicidal. (A/N If you haven't noticed I really like that phrase/word. Actually I just like using quasi, it's a cool word or whatever it is.)  
  
"Did I ever say I did that fer ye? I jest wanted His Highness te be able te rub in yer capture. " Erik smiled obnoxiously as he said that.  
  
"Whoever or whatever you did it for, thank you. I didn't really want to die." Kel was almost in tears now but the trace of Yamani attitude she had left holding strong and making her stop from doing so.  
  
"Er... Whatever ye say wench. The better the king likes me the more I get paid. That's all I care about."  
  
~  
  
Dom and the rest of his squad were cold and lost. Again.  
  
"I have a magical map dammit! Why are we getting lost if I have a magical map?" Dom threw the map into the slushy snow at his feet and resisted the urge to stamp on it. He picked it up again and cleansed it of ice.  
  
"Sergeant, it may help you read the map if you hold it right side up. Just a suggestion sir." An indiscriminate man came up to Dom and flipped over the parchment in Dom's hands.  
  
"Thank you Maddock. This cold must be affecting my brain to keep me from being able to read a map correctly." A slight chuckle rose from the squad at the attempt to joke. The pun however was not appreciated mainly because of the fact that the men were lost and the cold was affecting everyone's mind somewhat. Dom had lead the men to the first of the locations they expected Kel to be in but found it utterly deserted. They had sent spies to the nest spot on the list of possible prisons but had found it held no captives. In that sense they had made progress however on their way to the next spot a blizzard had sent them off track.  
  
"I do believe I found a way for us finish visiting the rest of the spots soon. If we take this route here," Dom traced the path he meant on the map, "we could reach here," Dom pointed to a purple star on the map, "in a week if we work quickly and don't need to stop for an entire day again. From there we can head onto this fort. Travel would take about three weeks but we would be able to make it." Dom gestured to the map and told the rest of his travel plans quickly, he could explain them better when they were ready to go to those places.  
  
~  
  
In Malaeduraeterrae on the exact opposite side of the prison from Kel were some other prisoners-of-war. An entire block of cells was filled with soldiers who had been captured while protecting the Tortallan-Scanran border. These men had never seen Kel at the prison or even heard of her arrival. Before Kel's capture the soldiers had been tortured for information the same way Kel was being questioned now. Now the soldiers were stricken with revenge and prayed with all their heart that Mithros would let them take their vengence from their captors. Pity none of the men had any skill for command, or else they would be executing plan to free themselves already. Good thing that they were in the same prison as Keladry.  
  
~  
  
A/N: Okay...... Kel is acting *very* bipolar. Mood swings I guess, I don't have total control over these characters, Kel's bipolarness wasn't my doing, neither is Dom's affinity for getting lost. The characters created that for themselves. Short I know. I'm none too fond of this chapter, my writer's block is being a brat. Don't kill me please. Kel is bipolar and quasi-suicidal, Dom's lost (again) and the Tortallan court is in an uproar. What is the deal with Erik? Can things get worse? Yup, they can. Will they? Who knows? But remember, Tortall and Dom have three months of bought time to get their act together. Raoul shows his tall self next chapter and more weird stuff happens. Remember review to review be review kind review and review review. 


End file.
